magazines are better when they're free

I was happy to discover Parasol some time ago. It's a lovely magazine on design, art, and creative lifestyle. My favourite parts are their nifty DIY projects. Best of all, it's free to download right now on their website.




all images from issue 2.


Thank you for all the comments on the last post! I didn't expect to get as many replies as I did. If I haven't replied to your comment yet, I promise I will soon! I also have some awards and tags that I will catch up on.

Hope you're all having a nice weekend. I'm spending my weekend with some work, some thrifting, a bit of crafting, and watching a whole lot of tennis from the French Open.
How are you spending your weekend?

thrifted Vogue

As promised, here are more scans from the magazine in my last post. Hope you enjoy :)
Don't you just love the ones with the tights?






I've been using too much of my internet quota too quickly, so blogging and commenting may slow down a bit during the next week or two as I'll be limiting my online time. Sorry! I'll still be around though and will reply to all comments.

PSssst.... I am also here. Thank you Angela! I have been following her lovely blog for ages, and was beyond delighted to see that post!

♥

weekend thrift finds

I scored some lovely little bargains from the op shop yesterday. My favourite is this fawn stationary set, still complete in it's unopened package!

I also got a cube photo frame and a 2004 Italian Vogue. It's not the "normal" Vogue, it says "cahier de tendances" on the cover which - after some google search - I find means a trend book. Even more googling tells me it was a supplement to a Men's Vogue issue. Too bad I don't know Italian and can't read the articles, but all the fabulous artwork inside more than make up for it.
Here's a snippet of what's inside:

Left: part of a page on clothing label designs.
Right: creatively showcasing fabric patterns using paper doll pictures. I was tempted to cut them up and play with them.


Left: my favourite editorial! They layered vintage photographs with beads, trimmings and fabrics.
Right: a brilliant array of buttons and beads, part of the Spring Summer '04 Colors Prediction.

I scanned some more editorial pages, and will share them with you in my next blog post.

black and white, and dotty too

Went outside for some sunshine, doodling, and thinking. Did not get as much as I'd like of either three, but I did snap a few photos for the blog.


Thrifted skirt and tights from the op-shops, vintage blouse and cardi from Retrostar, shoes from Rubi, ring made by me.

I've been tagged by the fabulous Gita of Petrushka's Closet to write 10 random facts/habits about myself. So here's my list.
1. I love Pocoyo (kids shows are the best).
2. The last movie I saw was Star Trek.
3. I was born in the province of DIY, Indonesia.
4. I like the double meaning when I say "I like DIY".
5. I wish I was in France for the next 2 weeks so I could go to Roland Garros for the French Open!
6. I have a bad habit of cracking my knuckles.
7. There was a time when I was the tallest girl in high school. I was 1.73m - which isn't that tall.
8. I'm pondering if I'm better off getting a sewing machine or a DSLR. I know nothing about either.
9. Posh was always my favourite Spice Girl, long before she became Mrs. B, and I will forever have a soft spot for her.
10. I can't drink plain milk. It has to be flavoured or mixed with something else.
This award came with the tag:

I'm supposed to choose 10 more bloggers to tag, so I tag the first 10 people who comment on this post. Have fun!
Unless you don't want to play along (why not??), then pass it along to the person after you ;)

things were so simple

My mailbox was bursting with goodies, mainly some jewellery supplies and then there was this package from the ever so sweet Laura. She sent the perfect necklace and some delicious chocolate from the UK! Rice Krispies bars!! First of all, I'm so excited to see the word Krispies because here in Australia they're called Rice Bubbles, and - no offence to the Aussies - it just sounds so wrong. Anyway, these stuff were really good and are more than half gone already. I try to eat them slower so they will last longer - but that doesn't seem to be happening!
As if chocolate wasn't enough to put a massive smile on my face, she also included this sweet necklace. It says "My Heart Belongs to Daddy" on the charm. I don't know how she knew, but yes - I admit I am a daddy's girl. I am a lot like him too, in appearance and personality.


This is the only picture I could find of my dad and me. Well, the only one I took a picture of and saved on my flash drive when I did go home. We were still living in the UK (I was there until the age of 6), and this was at a park we went to every Sunday. I'm the little one in the middle.
It's funny, the snippets of childhood memories our mind chooses to keep (reminds me of this post by City of Dionne). There's a lot of things from those days that I don't remember, but I can vividly remember playing on that slide over and over again. Oh, and eating Rice Krispies for breakfast.
Life was good.

dreams of summer

So it's nowhere near summer in my neck of the woods, but one can always pretend. Maybe it would help if I stick flowers and butterflies in my hair like this girl.



images from here.

... or wear pretty summer outfits like these ones by Nadinoo.


I just adore the floral prints and delicate details (big bows and flirtatious frills, anyone?). Perfect for any spring/summer wardrobe, but then again I'm one of those girls who is all for wearing florals all year round. See more in her online shop or Etsy. She also has a lovely blog too.

P.S. Thanks to everyone who responded to my poll in the last post! It was interesting to see the results, and it's really nice to know that most of you approve of my mixed bag of content. If you haven't voted yet, you still can. I don't think I'll be closing the poll anytime soon.

pretty rings, an award, and a poll*

* as straight-forward as a title gets

Remember those cool handscape rings I posted a little while ago? Well I found some similar kind of upright/silhouette type of rings on Etsy. They're made from acrylic, and way more affordable. I love the clever whimsical designs! My favourite is either the bird or the spectacles. See the shop links under the images.

1= Sophiehillartist
2 and 3= Isette

♥♥♥

I was given this wonderful award from Rebecca, Gabbi and Diana

About the Award: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbon of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I'm going to pass this award to:
Diana, Rebecca, Ana B, Gabbi, Maçã, Laura, Emily, Ariella
... and yes, I know many of these lovely ladies have received this award already (some of them gave it to me in the first place!), but it is well-deserved. What goes around comes around!

♥♥♥

I've been feeling a bit stuck and uninspired for new blog posts lately. In a way, I worry if my blog is lacking in direction. It's not really a fashion, photography, personal, craft, or {insert category here} blog ... it's like a whole mix of everything - including all {pretty things} in between. Not that I don't love posting about all of these, but sometimes the wide range of subjects can make it tricky when I want to narrow it down to one thing. Does that make sense?
So here's the thing... I want to hear from YOU (let's see if this blog poll works). You can select multiple answers if you wish.

What do you want to see more of in this blog?
	Etsy finds (like this post)
	outfit posts
	photography
	fashion editorials
	my own craft or artwork
	giveaways
	mail swap hosting
	thrifting finds
	other (please comment)
pollcode.com free polls

Do any of these appeal more to you than others? Feel free to elaborate in the comments. I'd really love to know. After all, I wouldn't be blogging and enjoying it as much as I do if it wasn't for you guys!

♥♥♥

P.S. Don't mind the changing layout. I'm playing around with a little blog make-over, and have yet to make up my mind.

LBD love

Have you ever tried something on, which was in many ways perfect (last one, on sale, and oh so pretty), but it had it's flaws (one size too small) and you end up not getting it ... only to come back the next day because you couldn't help thinking about it and now feel that the flaws aren't so bad after all ("so it'll be a bit short, I could still work it").. and not only are you thrilled to find that it's still there, just when you're about to pay you spot an identical one on another rack (the store is so unorganised) in your size (And after double-checking, it is definitely the last one)? Bliss!
= Story of this little black dress.
The lace doily-like details are what made it so utterly irresistable.



dress: Forever New,
necklace: my etsy,
the cutest post-it notes in the world: from Diana (I have a sudden urge to cover my walls in post-it notes... )

So what about you? Have you ever regretted not buying something only to find a better deal?

I want to see...

Paper Heart


500 Days of Summer


Both look really good!
Charlyne Yi + Michael Cera or Zooey Deschanel + Joseph Gordon-Levitt? I don't know which one I'm looking forward to more. Anyway, who knows when they'll be released in Australia. In the meantime, I'm going to see Star Trek this week.

krysten

I don't usually feature celebrities in here, but I do adore Krysten Ritter's quirky style, and I love these photos of her at her house featured in the Selby. I don't know what I envy more, the cool house or the adorable dresses. There's something cozy and welcoming about the mis-matched retro furniture. I wouldn't mind lounging around a house like that in a pretty polka dot dress either.

If you're like me, then you'd be familiar with Krysten's acting in Gilmore Girls and Veronica Mars (*sigh*, such good shows... how I miss them). I haven't seen any of her recent work, but she was also in Confessions of a Shopaholic, and has a guest appearance on Gossip Girl this week.



see more here.

PS. just to remind you, my 50%-off sale ends this Sunday!

handscape

These "handscape" rings from ZLDA look like wonderful little masterpieces. In their words: "Handscape turns your fingers into a little landscape.".
I imagine having a whole bunch of these rings would make a fun storytelling prop... or an unexpectedly dangerous weapon if you jabbed someone with them!



you can buy each ring individually or as a set here.

bargain blouse and fabric badges

Yesterday the sun was out for a change. So I took advantage of it and went out for a short walk in the gardens. I brought my coat as I still expected it to be chilly, but luckily it turned out to be really nice and warm once I stepped into the autumn sunshine.

This photo was unintentional. It was the first shot and I was only testing out the self-timer. So I was really just taking off my coat, and hadn't tied up the pussy bow collar of my blouse yet. I think it actually turned out better than most of my other shots - which I chose not to use.

I thrifted the blouse the day before for 50 cents. I finally found myself a pussy bow blouse! I've been searching for one for ages with no luck... until now. I love it. I almost never wear sleeveless tops, but I think that's all about to change now. Well, at least until winter comes.

all the leaves are brown...

Just before I went out, I checked my mailbox and oh yes, more mail for me! This time it was from the sweet Mary from Portugal. We're doing a little mail swap for fun. The contents are a surprise.
Isn't it funny that I get a friendly mail from someone named Mary after I wrote about the pen-pal friendship of Mary and Max in my previous post? I may not be an obese 44-year old New Yorker, but I'm pretty sure I could relate to Max's delight in receiving mail when I opened this one.
So anyway, I brought the envelope with me and opened it while I was out.

.... and I was blown away by what I found inside: lovely postcards, a letter, and fabric badges! So many pretty badges!! I could have just squealed in delight (if it wasn't for the couple near me who would've thought I was mad if I did). I have always loved fabric badges, and these delicate floral patterns are just perfect.


Three of them found their way straight to my coat.

This is the view from, umm... my head... looking down. Obviously.
I was so happy, I think I had a grin on my face all the way home.

Go visit her onebadgeaday blog to buy and see more of her wonderful badges.

P.S. Plug: Don't forget to check out my shop too. 50% off sale on selected items still happening.

Mary and Max

I went to the movies to see Mary and Max last night, and it was SO good. If you haven't already, do yourself a favour and SEE IT!
I'm no good at writing movie reviews, so here's a snippet of the description from the Sundance website.

"...it tells the simple story of a 20-year pen-pal friendship between two very different people: Mary Dinkle, a chubby, lonely 8-year-old girl living in the suburbs of Melbourne, and Max Horowitz, a 44-year-old Jewish man, who is severely obese, suffers from Asperger’s syndrome, and lives an isolated life in New York City. It is very much a triumph of emotion, insight, and eccentricity—a complete delight."




Without giving too much away, I ♥ it because:
1. I like clay (have used it myself to make this and this), so I have high admiration for the creation of these characters.
2. The stunning visuals. I love that although Mary's world is very dull brown, and Max's place is all shades of grey, there's that bright pop of red everywhere.
3. It celebrates the power of exchanging mail!
4. It's dark but sweet at the same time.
5. Kinda funny to see my old university make an appearance.
6. There's lots of chocolate involved!
7. The long-distance friendship between 2 people who have never even met is endearing. Quite frankly, it made me think of the friendships I have with some of you bloggers ♥

trailer:

fresh start

In an attempt to start off the new week with a happy feel, here's some yellow to shoo away the Monday blues.

♥ source


♥ source


♥ source


♥ Can you see me smiling at you?
If this looks familiar, that's because it's an out-take from this outfit post. I think I should take more balloon pictures.

P.S. Make sure you check out my Etsy's 50% off special in the previous post!
P.P.S. I can't believe I've never used the scheduled post feature on blogger before. This post will pop up while I'm still in bed. Handy.

♥